Lada Dropped from Helicopter | James May's Cars of the People | BBC Studios 

The title and description really dont fit this video

They even played the USSR version of the anthem. Nice touch

Love how they always mock these cars. Yet GB has no car industry left whatsoever.

This car was a great dream of Soviet people. It cost 5000 roubles. For example worker on the plant have 150-180 roubles for month. This car was my first car. Best regards from Russia!!!

I owned a Lada as a student, a red sedan with injection and eighty something hp, and I quite liked it. First thing, I got it dirt cheap, and without any major defects. Sure, sometimes buttons or handles fell off, and it really really did not like hot summers. But it was reasonably comfortable and roomy and it would take me everywhere and it did 100 mph without too much of a fuss, and the heating system was the best I've ever had in any car. It even had a tow hitch that I never used. It earned you these "what the hell is he driving" looks, which I rather enjoyed. It had a bit of mystery about it, because I could never find its serial number in the lists supposed to tell you in which post-Soviet nation it was actually made. Of course it was not the best car I've ever owned, but strangely memorable, and even likeable. Certainly wouldn't have dropped it from a crane :D

In Eastern Europe they are still essential reliable transport. They do the job.

Watching that made me sad. I love seeing old cars like that on the road.

:( I really hoped it would be dropped on a Morris Marina.

Does that mean it's not coming on, then?

Don`t Kick the Lada so badly. Sure it was not enjoyable to drive, the steering and brakes were heavy, it was not very comfortable etc but it was much more reliable and durable than most british cars of the era. It was cheap and easy to service, warm in winter and not as rust-prone as british cars.

70's Lada cars will last longer than whole British made cars.

These Ladas are not just still reliable, they've produced new auto sport which is extremely popular in Russia. Winter drift in this cars is so popular that famous Japan drifters came in the middle of Siberia to take a part in competitions.

I bet the car still starts

Why would you do that to a perfectly good Lada

So you destroyed a perfect condition top right Hand drives LADA.... not well done...!!!!!!

I'm a 20 year old Russian, who is not emotional and has been living by himself for 2,5 years, thousands of miles away from hole and family. Yet somehow you managed to make me cry with this video. #StopLadaAbuse

Lada: the Nokia 3310 of all cars

It is quite a narrow point of view Mr. May. It is not that ugly. There are other cars on the market right now which are much worse in design and what you should expect from them in terms of price and technical development. The Lada “Zhiguli” was built cheap and simple because Russia is so vast that people somewhere in the badlands of Siberia or so where able to fix the vehicle by themselves. You would be astounded in what conditions these things are still drivable - which is a blessing when the next doctor or shop is hundreds of kilometers away. As a comparison a modern car could not even be started without a key or worse, some stranger with a laptop can start and control the car with a laptop from far away. In desperate times a simple mechanical solution is the better and wiser choice.

Pls more respect! Next time try the same experiment with your low quality aluminium land rover!

Maybe a Lada speed record ...

the very first Ladas that came into this country were fab! they looked like the 124 but had the Russian chain driven OHC engine which was torquey and pulled VERY well! and, was remarkably smooth! even though it looked outdated, the build quality was very good it was a decent car! my dad had the 1600 ES which I drove regularly. Then they changed to that ugly thing with that god awful radiator grill(riva) and the belt driven OHC which was like something out of a tractor!

Ladas weren't that bad. Esspecially those,made for export. The "British" cars of today, cost a whole lot of money, and need serious repairs at least twice a year.

1:25 the best part

i love the lada.

I worked for a Fiat dealer in 1979 at the end of FMNA. Those homely little sedans were the most reliable of the entire line. Find it adorble toown

Had a 124 back in the 70s, it was not a good one, it has rot and electrical problems and it did not stay for long but it did handle really nicely and I'm sure a good one would have been a most pleasant car. As has been said elsewhere the Lada seemed to have a good following and people I knew who had them swore by them.

Give this car to a Russian mechanic and it will be on craigslist next week with a clean title in hand.

If someone wants to reveal someone else's flaws, it's to hide their own. I used to love him, but now I love Lada.

I like how they made fun of LADA when British cars are junk. Rover, Jaguar, British Leyland, Austin, etc. I don’t think there is an actual British owned marque anymore, they are either Indian, Chinese, German.

Мотор зачем вытащили? Если сбросить с мотором то пришлось бы ехать в Австралию за ней

YET I STILL LOVE THE TRABANT 601

I really like these cars. In fact I wish these were sold in the states as a new vehicle. The old simple design is perfect for people who need a car and have no access to public transportation.

What James forgot to mention is that Lada was THE dream car for milion's of people in the eastern block. People waited 10-15 YEARS to buy one! It was VERY expensive, one was about 7000-8000 bulgarian levs wich was around 8000-9000 USD! But it will forever be in my hart. Noisy, uncomfortable, slow, bad brakes, stearing was tragic.. but it was all so reliable and easy to fix. Well, noting is as reliable and easy to fix as the Moskvich

Used to have one of these(had to sell it a year ago). Only had it for a year sadly, but I did like it. For our Russian roads that thing is borderline perfection. It's cheap, it's reliable, you can fix it with literal scrap(although you don't need to, since spare parts are extremely cheap and extremely common), it's spacious enough to be a family car, and it doesn't use too much fuel. It's still hella uncomfortable and ugly though, and the gearbox is the stuff of nightmares. All in all, loved it. As a side note, it didn't break down on me once, and the heating during the winter was great. Never got it to 100kmh, not because it couldn't, but because it started making sounds that would scare the shit out of anyone at 80kmh, and I didn't want to push my luck.

Had lada niva cossack. Fantastic off-road, cheap and tough. Treated it hard and never broke. I'd choose over new defender. Miss it.

I bet it still runs

With all due respect, this is not a test but rather a Western symbolism that shows gloateness at productions that symbolize the Soviet era. Even if you drop a Bentley, Mercedes-Benz, Ferrari, or whatever car, you will have the same wreckage in the end. Lada cars are among the sleekest and most durable cars, especially these models. All there is to it is that its production required care to monitor the quality of finishing and ensure the technical finishing only. Personally, I adore all the Lada models with a traditional design apart from the falsity of modern technology.

Who the hell disliked this?

People really have to stop comparing the 124 to moder cars. Think of its as a car from the 60's. And affordable car from the 60's, an affordable car from the 60's for the poor european market. Now that you did that you can only say "dam thats one heck of a car!"

In trying to sell the Lada in foreign English speaking countries a very good commercial was made. I was in Kotor, Yugoslavia which has an incredible road going up the side of a mile high cliff. The Yugoslav made cars all Yugoslav cars made it up without overheating.

It's easy and typical to laugh and be critical about USSR but people did what they could and their hands were tied to such an extent, financial and possibility wise that not the best things could be produced. My dad owned a WAZ 21-06 from new and it was awesome, for that time it did what a car should do. I'm from the old Soviet Union and as my family told me it wasn't perfect, but it was okay. People were happy most of the time, not mentioning the dark stuff.

If it fell down back first, it would probably still drive

they never work, but they're never broken -a slav

This car has the highest count of produced cars in the world - counting of course all under "license" produced cars (like Russia, Poland, Yugoslavia etc)

About cars that last forever: What about the Uaz Buhanka? It's still made from 1968 and it looks almost the same

I love Lada so I don’t care what other people say

Now drop an Oldsmobile Bravada onto the same spot and I might forgive you.

I'd love to own a lada

Надо было его туда посадить

I once drove to the UK in my Wartburg and folks said: What car is that? It looks like an old Lada :-)

just why would you destroy something like that

A very disrespectful video. This robust little car soldiered on for pretty much 50 years, having to operate in an incredibly wide range of climates, on lousy fuel, and dodgy roads. Sure, it was outdated and simple, but it did what it was designed to do. Imagine the outcry if James May pushed a series 1 Land Rover off a cliff and made his usual smug comments...

This is one of my dream cars...

Даже грустно стало

Lada is indestructable

WHEN A LADA BREAKS A SPEED RECORD.....😂😂😂😂

wow, that's a tough camera...

What are you doing,whay you crash lada that is exelent car?

It still works

I think its a beautifull looking car and i would buy it instantly if it got into production again looking and veing exactly the same as it was

GLORY TO ARSTOTZKA

I love how they got a crew of people and dressed them up as they were going to "recieve" it and just stood there watching the car being obliterated

HE DESTROYED A NOKIA 3310 🤯🥺🤯💀

James May never tried the VFTS or 1600 Gr2. These two rally cars are the best things in the world. You try this car, and you falling in love. The rally Ladas aren't strong, but they have a small weight, and a very good feeling. But the soviets make a car, what can you fixing easly, not pumped up for more electronic shits.

Никита Хрущев Вам бы, так ядерную бомбу скинул !!! ))))

It's cute when a British talked about dictatorship 🤣

Fiat 124 " car of the year " 1966 !!!

People always say how horrible the car is but i have daily driven 1981 lada for 2 years and it always a plesure to drive.

yes, because Robin and cityrover are so great? lol

You know what is really sad is that Lada actually had at the end of 80-s and beginning of 90-s many modernised models (for that time). But due to shitty economic and political isues and lack of funding they closed the projects and continued making that outdated "bucket" as we call it.

That was just stupid. To the British, saying any other country car is bad, but the Russian are the worst. Anything Russian has to be destroyed (Hey anyone remember British Leyland? )

if you think we can survive its not so possible but if you're luckly 2% you can survive.

The Lada would get you to where you were going without much fuss. I fitted mine with new plugs and H.T. leads then it was very reliable.

this lada bashing is a bit rich coming from an englishman. reliant robin anyone?

Well what did Mr. May do: he just said that these affordable and reliable cars are ugly because they were made in the ussr. Very sensible. And dropping this one from the heli was a brilliant manifestation of razor-sharp english humour, wasn't it?

Мда, теперь я понял, что значит выражение «вечно гадящая Англичанка»

Propaganda? Both capitalism and communism are too old, how about a system based on scientific method? 😀

Well, that was just dumb

Of course they don't know what the difference is between one that is actual Soviet production and one that's Egyptian production..

never liked late Ladas, but come on guys, RHD Lada Riva is a classic piece now and it does not deserve this. following his thoughts, a lot of British vehicles from BL era should be crushed right now too

The wreckage looks like there was no engine in it.

Another classic destroyed by Top Gear. Congratulations. Keep on the good job.

It’s absurd that a guy who makes TV shows has a so narrow view. Just read the comments, and find another hobby other than trying to blame and make fun of Ladas. It’s also strange that only TV shows from the UK do this since the 90s.

Title:2019, a normal year Video: 2020 is here my boys and it's a Lada on a Calendar, just gets worse with time

communist, imperialistic, bla bla bla. GB is kingdom and is pure imperia. Soviet cars were much more better than west ones

If it didn't fall head on deliberately, you could have started it like the hilux

Impressed the camera survived

A long time ago when i was 17 i stoled the Lada from my parents while they were sleeping 🤣 i drove it and suddenly a Mercedes 123 blocked my way and i didn't have time to break and boom, i crashed directly in the Mercedes, the Mercedes was totally wasted but my Lada had minor damage, only the headlights were broken and the hood was a little bit bent, luckly the Mercedes driver and me suffered only some scratches, i say luckly because i was driving 70-80km/h, how strong was the Lada and thank God i didn't hit the Mercedes driver side, he would be dead because the Mercedes was all bent like a banana, and thank God that he was alone 😊🙏

Still, Fiat 124's legacy lives on in Niva, still one of the best offroaders on the market, and among the cutest ones as well.

Erm, British Leyland?

I bet it'd still start

Get them back on Top gear!

Это же праворукий жигуль. Я думаю он стоил бы дохера...

A Lada was easy to repair, cheap and a form of transportation, it was communist functionality epitomised. They’d also much prefer you to take the train or tram or bus

Has anybody noticed that plate was changed? At first, it was standard Russian plate saying that the car is registered in Moscow. But when you lifted and dropped it, the plate was with latin symbols. Does somebody obtain two nice souvenirs?

Why did you kill Lada? Why couldn't I have taken Lada?

Ну и зачем это надо было делать? Что этим было доказано? Все знают, что "семëрка" как автомобиль далеко не очень, но сбрасывать с вертолëта вполне целую "риву"? Зачем? Шоу показать? Сбросьте тогда роллс-ройс Мэя с бомбардировщика. Можно вместе с ним, но зачем? Краш-тест бы лучше провели по евростандартам или что-то такое.

What is this? JAMES MAY? WHAT ARE YOU DOING?

In the 70's I remember Fiat 124's rusting thru in two years in Michigan. The paint would go completely chalky in that time too. Just too delicate for the USA. They were fun to drive tho, when they ran.

wrong title and descriptions... it 's not a Fiat 124!